Portable folding traffic barricades are now widely utilized to control traffic or protect vehicles from road hazards. Made from plastic or metal and wood combinations, these barricades typically comprise two generally planar panel members fastened together at one end by hinge members and hinge bolts. The hinges allow the barricades to be opened for use or folded flat for more convenient storage or transport.
Plastic barricades are sometimes manufactured through a rotational or blow molding process wherein each panel is molded individually into a single, hollow piece. The use of plastic results in a barricade with many advantages over those made from metal and wood combinations, including light weight and durability. The use of plastic also reduces the amount of damage to a vehicle if the barricade is inadvertently struck. Furthermore, the two-panel general configuration of these plastic barricades allows it to collapse into its folded position if struck by a vehicle. This allows the striking vehicle and the other vehicles that follow to drive over the folded barricade safely.
To promote visibility, traffic barricades are often fitted with a standard-sized flasher light unit. The flasher light unit generally comprises a housing containing a battery, and a lens containing a bulb and reflector. The unit is usually attached to one of the hinge bolts on the barricade via a threaded socket in the housing.
When a flasher light unit is attached directly to one of the barricade's hinge bolts, the possibility of theft of the flasher light unit becomes a problem. The hinge bolt is easily removed by a would-be thief because the head of the bolt is exposed on one end of the hinge member. This configuration can also be difficult to maintain and install because the various manufacturers of barricades use hinge bolts of differing sizes.
While some barricades attach the flasher light unit directly to a hinge bolt, some prior art traffic barricade/flasher light combinations attach the flasher light unit to the hinge bolt using a small mounting bracket. The mounting bracket acts as an adapter to allow flasher light units to be mounted to plastic or metal barricades from different manufacturers. The bracket also allows users easier access to the flasher light unit for maintenance.
Prior art barricades which use brackets such as hereinbefore described have shortcomings, however. They allow the flasher light unit to rotate out of proper position for easier maintenance access, but this feature allows the flasher light assembly to be jarred out of its proper position. Although some assemblies that utilize brackets require significant force to knock the flasher light out of position, once this occurs, the mispositioned flasher light casts its beam in improper directions. This can be both uneconomical and dangerous.
The prior art bracket/light combinations have other disadvantages. Because a separate bracket is used to mount the flasher light unit, the barricade user has more parts to keep track of, install and maintain. The inconvenience becomes especially severe where hundreds of barricades are placed in use, as they often are.
Theft of the comparatively expensive flasher light assembly also remains a primary concern of barricade users. The fastening bolt, even though it often has a theft-proof head configuration and is not engageable by a conventional socket wrench, can still be removed by thieves when used with a mounting bracket. When such a bracket is used, the head of the fastening bolt is accessible when the bracket and light are rotated out of position. The cupped recess in the bracket only partially conceals the head, allowing a determined thief to remove the bolt with a conventional set of pliers.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides an improved molded plastic barricade with a molded handle member which also serves as a flasher light mounting apparatus. This simplified structure does not require a separate bracket to attach the flasher light unit, although one may be used. The flasher light unit thus has greater stability and is more easily maintained. This configuration also more effectively conceals the head of the fastening bolt, thereby hindering theft of the flasher light unit. Moreover, the handle member itself greatly simplifies carrying and storage of the barricade.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved and simplified flasher light mounting assembly for traffic barricades.
It is another object to provide a convenient means for carrying or transporting a traffic barricade.
It is another object to provide a mounting assembly which prevents the flasher light from slipping into an improper position during use.
It is still another object to provide a mounting assembly which hinders unauthorized removal or theft of the flasher light from the barricade.